Opportunities
for Students

Introductory video: students at Radcliffe

Harvard Radcliffe Institute is one of the world’s leading centers for interdisciplinary exploration. We bring students, scholars, artists, and practitioners together to pursue curiosity-driven research, expand human understanding, and grapple with questions that demand insight from across disciplines.

The Institute is unique among Harvard schools: Although we do not award degrees, we offer unparalleled opportunities for undergraduates and graduate students. Harvard Radcliffe Institute provides learning and research experiences that are difficult to find in a traditional classroom setting. Radcliffe students work directly with our fellows and faculty, providing unique opportunities for mentorship, and they work across departmental boundaries, connecting with peers across the University. Harvard Radcliffe Institute enriches the Harvard student experience by fostering interdisciplinary, engaged scholarship focused on the most pressing issues of our time.

Laura Weinrib RI '23 at table in conversation with three Radcliffe Research Partners.

2023–2024 Radcliffe Research Partnership Program Offers Students a Remarkable Range of Opportunities

The Radcliffe Research Partnership (RRP) program pairs Harvard undergraduates with Radcliffe fellows to work together on fellowship projects. Fellows provide mentorship and learning opportunities; students provide research assistance and other support as needed. Since fellowship projects vary widely, so too do the tasks expected of RRP students.

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Join the Emerging Leaders Program

Emerging Leaders Program

The Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) is a youth leadership development program partnering local high school sophomores with current Harvard undergraduates in a mentoring relationship. Together, mentees and mentors challenge limited conceptions of who can be a leader as they build critical skills to drive positive social change. We are no longer accepting applications for the 2023–2024 academic year.

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Two students stand behind a podium; one is speaking.

Student Spotlight

01 / 09

Fund Your Research or Project

Radcliffe Engaged Student Grant Program

The Radcliffe Engaged Student Grant Program provides $1,500 stipends per project to support the research, creative, and service work of Harvard undergraduate and graduate students on topics related to the Radcliffe Engaged focus areas. We are no longer accepting applications for the 2023–2024 academic year.

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Carol K. Pforzheimer Student Fellowships

Carol K. Pforzheimer Student Fellowships provide funding to Harvard undergraduates to do research in the Schlesinger Library's collections. Harvard Radcliffe Institute’s Schlesinger Library is committed to supporting students to pursue their own research. Applications for this grant cycle are no longer being accepted. The 2023–2024 application cycle will open on October 23, 2023, at 12 AM ET.

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William Simmons '14, arms crossed and smiling, with the Schlesinger Library in the background

Graduate Student Fellowships

PhD candidates at all Harvard faculties who plan to finish writing their dissertation in the next academic year are invited to apply. Graduate student fellows participate in the Radcliffe Institute Fellowship Program by attending all weekly fellows’ talks and lunches and are invited, though not required, to present their own work in a talk to the fellows. We are no longer accepting applications for the 2023–2024 academic year.

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Portrait of Leah E. Gose

Radcliffe Institute Public Art Competition

The Radcliffe Institute Public Art Competition (RIPAC) is opened to all undergraduate and graduate students currently enrolled in a Harvard degree program. The student or design teams who submit the winning design proposal will receive an $8,000 honorarium and up to $10,000 in funding for the fabrication and installation of the work. We welcome proposals that connect the arts with the Institute’s focus areas in climate change; law, education, and justice; and legacies of slavery. Proposals that reflect Radcliffe’s unique history and institutional legacy, that center on women, gender, and society, or that draw on the Schlesinger Library’s rich collections, are also of strong interest to the review committee. We are no longer accepting applications for the 2022–2023 academic year.

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Long glow stick type light fixtures, standing on the grass. View is from the ground looking up at the light sticks.

Conduct Research with Faculty and Fellows

Radcliffe Research Partnerships

The Radcliffe Research Partnership (RRP) program matches Harvard College students with Radcliffe fellows in a research and mentorship program. Fellows act as mentors, while students provide research assistance, acquire valuable research skills, and participate in the Institute’s rich intellectual life. The official deadline for 2023–2024 applications has passed, but we will continue to accept applications for a few projects.

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Portrait of Hala Zreiqat and Linh Nam

Multidisciplinary Student Research Collaborators

The Multidisciplinary Student Research Collaborators (MSRC) program allows Harvard undergraduate and graduate students to work as researchers in support of Radcliffe’s private programs. MSRC students aid in the preparation of content in the lead-up to the private programs and/or contribute to the post-program publication and production of program projects and deliverables in whatever specific form(s) that entails. Applications for the 2023–2024 academic year are now open and are accepted on a rolling basis.

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Navin Durbhakula and Camille Freedman with their faculty advisor, Sparsha Saha

Explore Internships & Working Groups

Law, Education, and Justice Working Groups

Harvard Radcliffe Institute’s Law, Education, and Justice (LEJ) working groups center dialogue and give students the opportunity to engage deeply and build community around important topics within LEJ. We are no longer accepting applications for the 2022–2023 academic year.

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LEJ students gathered behind a fountain.

Radcliffe Community-Based Student Internships

The Radcliffe Community-Based Student Internship (CBSI) program matches Harvard undergraduate and graduate students with community organizations, based largely in the greater Boston area, for paid spring term internships. The program aims to foster community engagement by providing experiential learning opportunities to students that have real-world impact, while building new, meaningful relationships among community-based organizations, Harvard students, and the Institute. Click below for a full list of spring internship opportunities. We are no longer accepting applications for the 2022–2023 academic year.

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Gain Leadership Experience and Training

Student Advisory Board

Student Advisory Board (SAB) members shape student-related programs and experiences and represent the Institute at their respective schools and departments. Through interdisciplinary and engaged work, SAB members collaborate with students across Harvard schools, departments, and classes to shape and share Radcliffe resources and opportunities with other Harvard students. The SAB is open to Harvard undergraduate and graduate students. We are no longer accepting applications for the 2022–2023 academic year.

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Student Advisory Board members engaged in discussion near a whiteboard.

Find Student Employment at Radcliffe

Harvard Radcliffe Institute’s work spans all disciplines and professions. The Institute provides invaluable support to scholars and students pursuing pathbreaking research and creative projects, including Radcliffe fellows, participants in seminars and workshops, and those inspired by the Schlesinger Library’s rich collections. Harvard Radcliffe Institute also offers a wide range of events and exhibitions, which are free and open to the public. These programs reflect our commitment to expanding access to the University and to supporting the robust exchange of ideas.

More on Employment at Radcliffe
Landscape of Radcliffe Yard.

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The Russian-Ukraine War has immensely amplified the risk of weapons of mass destruction—chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear, and explosive (CBRNE)—in the region. This Accelerator Workshop at Harvard Radcliffe Institute reviewed and rethought emergency response protocols for medical professionals and—without precedent—training programs for civilians conducted during an active war. The Workshop charted a path forward in building CBRNE, disaster, and emergency management capacity strategies and policies for Ukraine. This model will be developed for application in other countries to address the growing threat of CBRNE weapons worldwide. In the photo, from left to right: Jonathan Strong, Harvard Medical School; Timothy Erickson, Harvard Medical School & Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; Wardah Amir, Special Assistant, US Dept. of State; Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, US Dept. of State; Irini Albanti, Executive Director, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; Donell Harvin, Visiting Scientist, HSPH & Harvard Humanitarian Initiative; and Lea Sinno, Project Associate, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative

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Barbie—the pink-loving, convertible driving, career woman—was created in 1959 by Ruth Handler. Ruth named the doll for her daughter, Barbara, and two years after Barbie's release, Ken followed, named for her son, Kenneth. When Ruth died in 2002, her husband Elliot donated her papers—a collection of photos, letters, article clippings, fan mail, and more—to the Schlesinger Library at the Harvard Radcliffe Institute. Are you going to see "Barbie" this weekend? 💕 #TheBarbieMovie #BarbieTheMovie Images: Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University

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As we close out Pride Month, we turn to Jennifer Finney Boylan, an author, a trans activist, and Radcliffe’s 2022–2023 Marilyn Beaudry-Corbett Schlesinger Fellow. For Boylan, love was a guiding force during transition—and it continues to influence her work. Love is woven through her Radcliffe project, a follow-up to her best-selling 2003 memoir, She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders. The book will examine her life over the past 60 years through the lens of manhood and womanhood—something she brings a unique perspective to, having lived as both a man and a woman. Visit the latest issue of Radcliffe Magazine (link in our bio) to learn more about Boylan’s experience, perspective, and contributions to writing and trans-rights activism. #pridemonth #pride #transpride #writing #memoir 

#transactivism #harvard #radcloffeinstitute
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